Car Rental Kiosk

Alamo Rent A Car Installs touch-screen kiosks. From USA Today.

Car rentals go the kiosk route

By Jayne Clark, USA TODAY

Alamo Rent a Car has installed touch-screen kiosks, similar to check-in units used by airlines, at the Las Vegas and Dallas/Fort Worth airports. Speed it up: Alamo Rent a Car touch-screen kiosk. Speed it up: Alamo Rent a Car touch-screen kiosk.

The kiosks, the industry's first, enable customers to do the rental transaction with a swipe of a credit card and driver's license. Process time is cut in half, to about 2½ minutes.

Renters who prefer the human touch can still step up to the counter. But during a month or so of testing, the company has found that "folks who are already conditioned to the airline kiosks are taking to it like ducks to water," says spokesman Charles Pulley.

Alamo will gradually roll out the kiosks in other locations this summer and fall.

Car Rental Kiosks

Alamo goes with self-service touchscreen kiosks for check-in. Installations include Las Vegas and Dallas. From USA Today. Read more

Travel Kiosk

TravelerCenters.com Provides the Travel Industry with State of the Art Kiosk

ANTELOPE, Calif., May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Automated Traveler Centers, a traveler solutions and service company today announced the launch of a new website at www.TravelerCenters.com. The site provides business partners, service partners and consumers with information and support they need to improve their quality of travel. TravelerCenters.com is our commitment to traveler solutions, via our technology and automated services, by way of an easy-to-use, self-service kiosk center.

TravelerCenters.com features a Kiosk Product Center Section which provides the latest information about the companies automated traveler solution centers. The web site also features a customer service area where travelers can learn about the latest prohibitive items and track items from the Boomerang Center.

"We hope this site helps educate and inform our customers about new products, programs and opportunities that will improve the quality of travel," commented Bob Afamasaga, CEO of Automated Traveler Centers. "We are delighted with the launch of this new website and the partnership we have had with Jack Frost Design. We needed a strong partner with the experience and knowledge to take our website and make it the repository of valuable information for the travel industry and traveling consumer. Jack Frost Design had the knowledge and experience to take our requirements and deliver a system to meet our current -- and future -- needs."

About Automated Traveler Center, Inc.

Automated Traveler Center, Inc., is a California company located just 14 miles north of Sacramento, California's Capital City. The company's Antelope headquarters is home to ATC's sales, professional services and financial teams. The company marketing team is located in the San Francisco Bay Area and our Southern California office offers sales and professional services for the airport and government markets. ATC's markets include hotels, airports, community centers, transit centers and shopping malls. ATC is committed to providing traveler solutions, via leading-edge technology and automated services, by way of an easy-to-use, self-service kiosk center. The senior management knowledge and experience with traveler solutions exceeds the industry average and our leading-edge technology making ATC a leader in the industry. Automated Travel Centers are designed and manufactured to become an asset and recommended solution at travel locations around the world. For more information visit www.TravelerCenters.com.

Biometric and Security Kiosks

In The News: Secretary Tom Ridge Announces Enhancement of Expedited Traveler Program Through New York’s JFK Airport

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
Contact: 202-282-8010
January 13, 2005

U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge announced today that the United States would begin deploying enhanced technology to expedite security checks and immigration processing of pre-screened, international travelers through John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City. Further, Secretary Ridge and Dutch Minister of Immigration and Integration Rita Verdonk announced that their agencies will work together to develop an international registered traveler program.

“These efforts demonstrate again that we can design border security initiatives to both enhance homeland security and facilitate global commerce and travel,” Secretary Ridge said at an appearance at Schiphol Airport today with U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands Clifford Sobel, “In particular, a U.S. - Dutch pilot will bring the extensive experience the Dutch government has had with expedited travel security initiatives together with U.S. efforts, paving the way toward a truly international registered traveler program that enhances security for all travelers.”

Secretary Ridge also pointed out that “the success of the US-VISIT program, particularly in deploying biometrics technologies and processes has given us the confidence to move forward with voluntary expedited travel programs using biometrics.”

The improvements at JFK will be deployed in the coming weeks, while U.S. and Dutch officials commence discussions to design and implement an international pilot.

Secretary Ridge noted that Schiphol's years of experience with biometric-based facilitation programs made the Netherlands an obvious choice with which to begin this cooperative effort. But he stressed that the United States government will also work with other allies in the future.

“Our approach at this point is to think big but begin implementing on a small scale,” Secretary Ridge said. “We want to get it right.”

U. S. citizens, U.S. legal permanent residents and foreign visitors who travel frequently to the United States will be eligible for the program, contingent upon admissibility to the United States and the completion of a background check.

Participants will use dedicated kiosks when they arrive at JFK Airport. They will enter the United States without routine Customs and Border Protection (CBP) questioning, unless chosen for a selective or random secondary referral. They must present their machine-readable passport, submit their fingerprints for biometric verification, be photographed, and make a declaration at the kiosk. Once cleared at the kiosk, pilot participants will be allowed to claim their bags and exit the airport.

Full release on DHS.gov

KIOSK InformationSystems has been a leader in providing kiosks with biometric and security systems.

Bill Pay Kiosk

New Wireless Bill Pay Service launched at DIA

IN THE NEWS: Info Touch Technologies launches wireless bill pay service at Denver International Airport

Burnaby, BC, August 24, 2004 - Info Touch Technologies Corp (www.infotouch.net) (IFT: TSX Venture Exchange) announced a new distribution point for its automated self-serve bill pay services at 32 Shibby-Branded kiosks at the Denver International Airport. The kiosks are co-owned and operated by RHMES Communications of Denver, CO and KIOSK InformationSystems of Louisville CO.

Powered by Info-Touch's industry leading Surfnet Premiere software, the kiosks will enable airport employees and air travelers to pay their Cricket wireless bills in cash and/or credit card as well as other post paid bill payment and financial services applications. Payments by check are expected to follow soon afterwards.

The stakeholders of the project expect to derive revenues from the convenience fees paid by consumers in order to pay their Cricket or other bills of their choice. All applications will be available in Spanish and English.

"We're always looking for new ways to enhance our customers' experience", said Tom Williams, area general manager for Cricket. "With self-serve bill pay, we're providing another easy and convenient payment option. We look forward to being part of this growing technology focused on serving our customers".

President and CEO Rick Malone said, "The Denver Airport is the fifth busiest airport in the US and is an ideal location for this sort of application due to its approximately 23,000 employees. Also, new low-cost carriers have changed the demographic of air travel and we believe that the Shibby terminals at DIA are a compelling opportunity for bill payment services".

"There is a growing demand for alternative modes of payment amongst approximately 30% of America.s population who fall within the unbanked or underbanked demographic, as they may not have a bank / credit card account or prefer cash to other methods of payment," said Hamed Shahbazi, CEO of Info Touch Technologies Corp. "Shibby is a great example of the Company's indirect distribution model where IFT can leverage its software application and monetization program without funding new kiosk infrastructure".

About Cricket Service Cricket is a simple and affordable wireless solution offering unlimited anytime minutes within your Cricket® calling area over our high quality, all-digital network. Cricket service is an affordable wireless alternative to traditional landline service. With a commitment to predictability, simplicity and value as the foundation of our business, Cricket designs and markets wireless products to meet the needs of everyday people. We offer unlimited anytime minutes starting at $29.99 a month (plus taxes and fees) with no long-term agreements required. Operating in 39 markets in 20 states stretching from New York to California, Cricket® service is available to customers in more than 840 different municipalities. For more information, please visit www.mycricket.com.

About KIOSK Founded in 1993, KIOSK is the established leader in the design and manufacturing of indoor and outdoor kiosks, public Internet stations and other electronic self-service informational terminals. Recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in the United States, KIOSK' growth over the last nine years has earned the company a place on the Inc. 500 list and on both the Colorado Fast 50 and the nation's Technology Fast 500 by Deloitte & Touche. KIOSK has provided innovative kiosks for a who's who of corporate clients including McDonalds, Citibank, IBM, Disney, Borders, Mercedes Benz and Conoco, as well as numerous government agencies and universities. Having produced thousands of kiosks for over 1000+ different applications, including human resources, interactive and transactional retail, and security applications, KIOSK has the most in-depth experience and expertise in the kiosk industry. Contact KIOSK at 303-466-5471 or www.kis-kiosk.com for more information on its complete line of kiosks and contract manufacturing capabilities

About Info Touch Technologies Info Touch Technologies provides software, and personal financial services through secure kiosk networks. Surfnet is Info Touch.s trademarked technology for the secure and convenient delivery of e-services, including but not limited to bill payment, wireless Internet access, maps and directions, money transfer, PIN dispensing for pre-paid products and services, electronic coupons, video/text/photo e-mail and general Web-browsing. For more information, visit www.infotouch.net.

For more information please contact:

Cricket Media Relations:
Kristin Parsley Atkins
Tel: (858) 882-9105
katkins@cricketcommunications.com

Cricket Colorado Office:
Tom Williams
Tel: (720) 374-1825
twilliams@cricketcommunications.com

KIOSK Kiosks
Tom Weaver
Tel: (303) 661-1652
E-mail: tweaver@kis-kiosk.com

Info Touch Technologies Corp.
Behshad Hastibakhsh, Media Relations
Tel: 604.298.4636, Ext. 250
Toll Free: 888.679.3322
Email: pr@infotouch.net

Linear Capital Corp. (Investor Relations - Info Touch Technologies Corp.)
John Lewis
Tel: 416-364-2266
Toll Free: 1-877-600-6001
Email: jrlewis@linearcapital.com

DMV License Renewal Kiosks

IN THE NEWS: Nevada DMV and JCM American Work Together to Make the DMV Experience More Customer-Friendly, Convenient Statewide New Self-Service Kiosk Accepts Cash, Credit/Debit Cards, Reduces Wait Times; Successful Test Leads to 14 Permanent Stations Across Nevada

LAS VEGAS, June 9 /PRNewswire/ -- Convenient, fast, easy -- three words that motorists will soon be using more often to describe their experience at the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV), thanks to new self-service kiosks that are now in use across the Silver State. The kiosks, the result of a collaboration between the Nevada DMV and JCM American (JCM), successfully completed an extensive pilot program at the DMV's Carey location in Las Vegas and 14 kiosk are now available to motorists at nine locations across the state for daily use.

The kiosks are the first of their kind in Nevada, and are the first in the nation to accept cash.

The new kiosks officially made their debut at a June 3 ceremony in the Henderson office. On hand for the occasion were numerous DMV officials, including Ginny Lewis, Director of Nevada DMV. The kiosks are now installed and available for public use in southern Nevada at the Henderson, Flamingo, Sahara, Carey and Donovan Express locations; and in northern Nevada at the Carson City, Galletti, Reno Express and Sparks Express offices.

Officials at the DMV selected leading currency solutions provider JCM to devise a way for motorists to self-register, using cash or credit/debit cards. The result is the DMV self-service kiosk, which can process the average cash transaction in under two minutes; the average credit/debit card transaction is under one minute. Upon completion of a transaction, a renewal decal is dispensed from the kiosk along with a registration certificate.

"The idea is so simple, yet its effects are dramatic," said JCM Vice President Tom Nugent. "Nearly half a million people were already paying in cash at the DMV, but were waiting in line to process their registration. The self-service kiosk eliminates the wait time and allows motorists to come in, complete their transactions and not spend time waiting in line. Of course, the residual effect is shorter wait times, which means everyone's experience at the DMV is better. It's a win-win situation all around."

Currently, the kiosk processes vehicle registration renewals. The DMV will be adding late registration renewals, driver's license renewals, insurance reinstatements, ordering of specialty license plates and check acceptance in the future.

About JCM
JCM American Corporation is the industry leader in currency handling equipment. From its international headquarters in Osaka, Japan and subsidiaries in Hong Kong and Germany to its United States headquarters in Las Vegas, JCM's progressive spirit continues to set world-wide industry standards with innovative products such as the World Bill Acceptor (WBA). JCM provides its products, software and services to the gaming, banking, amusement, vending and petroleum industries. For more information, visit www.jcm-american.com.

Source: JCM American Corporation

DMV Self-Service Kiosks

IN THE NEWS: DMV electronic kiosks coming to town April 30, 2004

The Department of Motor Vehicles' electronic "kiosk" in Las Vegas has been so successful, officials are installing 14 of them statewide, including in Carson City.

The kiosks are electronic stations designed to let people with simple tasks like a registration renewal avoid waiting for a DMV employee to help them. Instead, people can take care of their registration - even paying in cash - without waiting in line.

DMV Director Ginny Lewis said one experimental kiosk in Las Vegas is now handling more than 1,000 customers a month with transaction times as low as two minutes.

She received legislative permission Thursday to put up 14 kiosks. And while many of them will be in Las Vegas where the busiest DMV offices are, Reno will receive four and Carson City one.

Lewis also told the Interim Finance Committee that the DMV is expanding the services available at a kiosk to driver's license renewals and other services.

"The goal has been, how much can we get away from the technicians for simple transactions?" she said.

Of the 28,000 transactions at the Las Vegas office in March, 1,000 were handled by the kiosk.

She also received permission to use another $820,000 in highway fund money to pay credit card fees, which she said are becoming a very popular method of payment at the DMV. Their use is up 34 percent this year alone. The problem is, there is no mechanism in Nevada law to pass the fees on when customers use Visa, Mastercard and Discovery cards.

Lewis said the fees will hit nearly $3 million this year, but pointed out allowing the cards for payment is saving the state much more than that since many of those transactions are on the Internet or at the kiosk. She said the same number of DMV transactions were processed online this past year as a full-sized metropolitan office would have handled. The cost of operations at one of those offices alone, she said, would have exceeded $6 million.

Ways and Means Chairman Assemblyman Morse Arberry, D-Las Vegas, questioned whether it is reasonable for the state to continue absorbing the credit fees.

Lewis said she shares that concern and plans to ask lawmakers in 2005 for guidance. She said options could include asking customers to pay part of the cost to sharing it with local governments, which receive the vast majority of the revenue generated by vehicle registrations.

KIOSK InformationSystems designs and manufactures touch screen, self-service kiosk solutions for retail, human resources, employee benefits, CRM, Wi-Fi, loyalty, gaming and many more self-service applications. With more than 28 standard kiosk models, custom models, turnkey vending units such as public internet terminals and photo kiosks, KIOSK has the largest self-service product and services line from which to choose.

Founded in 1993, KIOSK InformationSystems has more than 100 years of combined experience and is ISO 9001 and UL-listed certified. Retail kiosks, human resource and self-service solutions are a core competency. Major clients include Wal-Mart, U.S. Postal Service, McDonalds, Pepsi, the U.S. Government and Disney. For information about KIOSK products and services please visit www.kis-kiosk.com/digital, call KIOSK at 303-466-5471 or email pr@gokis.net.